Jonathan Jones on why this new Van Gogh book is not important. And a reminder that if you think theories like these "shatter art history," then you don't know what art history does.
…[T]he truly misleading thing here is the idea that it makes much difference to how we see Van Gogh. I am not disputing the fascination of his biography, but it is much, much more than a dramatic series of violent incidents.
Amen. I’ve been hearing a lot about this story over the last few days and struggling to put my reaction into words (well, words more eloquent than “so what?”), but I think Jones has summed it up pretty succinctly.
